Xavier Desan
Term of Office February 12, 1979 - February 12, 1985 Spouse Patricia Desan Political Party Progressive Liberal Vice President Owen Laccister

Xavier Desan (born December 2, 1928) was the thirteenth President of New Felix, serving from 1979-1985. Previously to his Presidency, he had served as a congressman and a three term governor of Chad.

Early Life and Political Career

Desan was born on December 2, 1928, in Hackleburg, The Grendels. As of present day, he is the only Felixan President in history to be born outside New Felix. His father was a businessman for the then newly discovered oil industry. At age 6, Desan's family moved back to New Felix, living near the financial capital of Laettner.

After graduating from the University of Chad in 1951, Desan joined the Progressive Liberal Party while subsequently running a successful pizza business in Bradford, New Felix. In 1965, he was elected a congressional seat from Chad, serving there for six years.

Governor of Chad

In 1971, Desan announced his attentions to enter the Chad Gubernatorial Race. Positioning himself as a very moderate, almost conservative candidate, he easily won his party's nomination, being seen as the best chance for the Progressive Liberals to win a guberatorial seat that hadn't been held by a Liberal in twenty years. Desan defeated the New Conservative Incumbent Lietenant Governor by a 51-48 margin.

As Governor of Chad, he worked to reduced healthcare costs, strengthen economic efficiency, and reduce crime rates. Despite winning re-election twice by only thin margins, Desan was named the best Governor of a Felixan State in 1978 by FelixWeek Magazine.

Presidency

In 1978, Incumbent Progressive Liberal President Brett Carpenter had decided not to run for a second term in wake of several scandals pointed at his administration and a failed military operation to capture domestic terrorist Guy Marion Johnson. Incumbent Vice President Alexandria Smolek announced her candidacy for Presidency, but it seemed as if the entire Carpenter Administration had been severely weakened. Desan saw this as an opening and announced his candidacy for Presidnet, successfully beating Smolek in the primaries and being the first, and as of present day, only candidate to successfully defeat an incumbent Vice President for the party nomination. Desan chose Senator Owen Laccister as his running mate in September of 1978. After defeating New Conservative Governor Jim Thompson by a 52-47 margin, Desan was inaugurated as President on February 12, 1979.

Desan's first goal as President was to eliminate domestic terrorism and milita groups that had been prevalent throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Mounting a massive anti-terrorist campaign, Desan passed the Gun Regulatory Act of 1979 that banned assault weapons in New Felix and created a new government organization, the Firearms Enforcement Adminstration to combat the illegal smuggling of firearms into New Felix.

In 1980, Desan became the first President to use military units domestically to combat terrorism when he inserted Special Forces to capture ultra Right-Wing Fundamentalist Christian leader Guy Johnson and his followers in rural Southern New Felix, where they were believed to be hiding. Johnson himself was captured alive after a shootout that killed 93 of his followers, and was executed in 1982.

In 1981, Desan won re-election, defeating New Conservative challenger William Stewart by a eight point margin, up from his five point victory in 1979.

Whereas combatting domestic terrorism was a major issue during Desan's first term, domestic issues such as healthcare and the economy were more prevalent during Desan's second term. Working with a majority Progressive Liberal Parliament, he managed to successfully pass tax reform, instituting a proportional taxing system that is still in effect today. Desan also put much more of the healthcare system under government control and attempted to set the stage up for universal healthcare in New Felix, a job that was successfully completed by President Boris Smith in 1996.

In 1983, Desan was re-elected by an eleven point point 55-44 percent margin, successfully capitalizing on an economic boom and a perceived end to domestic terrorism in New Felix. In April 1984, Desan announced that he would not seek a fourth term in office.

Three months after Desan announced his intentions not to seek a fourth term, members of an ultra-right wing Nephite militant group, Black Hand, seized a bank in Cameron. After an intense hostage standoff and a rescue attempt that went horribly wrong, twenty-six civilians were left dead. The incident sparked Anti-Nephite Riots across Eastern New Felix, with several cities descending into anarchy. President Desan and his adminstration gravely underestimated the power of the rioters and decided not to send in federal troops going against the wishes of state governors. Finally, after dozens of deaths, Desan deployed over 100,000 Felixan and Uusian Troops in nine cities, declaring martial around the east coast.

The public blamed Desan for not being able to contain the situation, and his approval rating fell from 58% to 34% in a matter of days. In the aftermath of the situation, Desan ordered the arrests of 117 Nephites in connection with Black Hand and ordered the Attorney General to prosecute all arrested rioters to the "fullest extent of thelaw." A majority of those arrested were convicted for crimes ranging from domestic terrorism to assault, and combined with a successful Progressive Liberal Political Convention in September 1984, Desan's approval ratings went up to 48% on election day 1985 and reached 54% on the last day of his presidency.

Desan's last act as President was to withdraw the military units stationed in Felixan cities and declare an end to martial law on the East Coast.

Post Presidency

Since leaving office in February of 1985, Desan has kept an unusually low profile for a former Felixan President, usually only publically speaking at Progressive Liberal Political Conventions. During the 1995 Election, Desan staunchly supported Progressive Liberal candidate Boris Smith and camapaigned around the country for him, even attempting to reach out to mostly conservative Felixan Nephites that heavily criticized him in 1984.

See Also

• 1984 Anti-Nephite Riots
• New Felix Election 1979
• New Felix Election 1981
• New Felix Election 1983
• Presidency of New Felix